Manchester United vs Tottenham Prediction: Betting Tips & Odds

I can’t remember a Manchester United vs Tottenham game this early in a season with so much pressure on both clubs.

United host Spurs at Old Trafford in the Premier League on Sunday morning, with kick-off at 5:30am NZT. They’re 12th on five points. Tottenham are bottom with two and still waiting on their first league win of the season.

In this Manchester United vs Tottenham preview I go through form and team news for both sides. My bet pays around $3, and it hinges on one team’s problems in front of goal.

It’s one for punters hunting value on new betting sites this weekend.

Manchester United

United have been hard to read.

They lost 2-0 at Hull on the opening weekend, then put five past Ipswich a week later with Bruno Fernandes grabbing a hat-trick. They haven’t won a league game since.

Fulham were the better side for long spells at Craven Cottage on 20 September. Lisandro Martinez turned the ball into his own net on 63 minutes, and United needed a deflected Matheus Cunha strike in the 89th to scrape a point.

I was more worried by the Carabao Cup exit a few days before that. They led Brighton 2-0 at Old Trafford and lost 3-2.

There’s still plenty going forward, mind. Fernandes found the post at Fulham and Bernd Leno had to deny Bryan Mbeumo and Cunha late on, so it’s not as if this side has stopped creating.

Team News: Ugarte is out. Sesko, Dorgu, Mazraoui, Amad, De Ligt, Darlow and Heaton are doubts. Rashford and Mainoo face late fitness tests. Baleba is in line for his debut.

Predicted Lineup: Lammens; Dalot, Maguire, Martinez, Shaw; Mainoo, Tielemans; Mbeumo, Fernandes, Rashford; Cunha.

Tottenham

Spurs have been dreadful after a summer of big spending.

They opened with a 3-0 loss at Brentford and a 2-0 home defeat to Newcastle. Then came back-to-back 0-0s against Forest and Everton, which were probably their best afternoons of the season.

Aston Villa beat them 3-2 in north London on 19 September. Spurs dominated most of the first half but still went in trailing, and they were three down before Conor Gallagher finally got them off the mark late on.

I’m not sure where their goals come from. Neither Dominic Solanke nor Omar Marmoush has a league goal yet, and Sandro Tonali hasn’t had enough service ahead of him in midfield to change that.

You’ll find Spurs at around $4.60 across most New Zealand betting sites, but I can’t bring myself to touch it.

Team News: Porro, Simons, Odobert, Mudryk, Kulusevski and Van de Ven are out. Van Hecke is a doubt after a foot injury on international duty.

Predicted Lineup: Kinsky; Gray, Adarabioyo, Senesi, Robertson; Bentancur, Tonali; Savio, Mateus Fernandes, Marmoush; Solanke.

• United beat Spurs 2-0 at Old Trafford in February.
• That result ended a six-game unbeaten league run for Spurs against United.
• United are still waiting on their first Premier League clean sheet this season.
• Spurs have failed to score in four of their five league games.
• Five points is United’s joint-lowest tally after five Premier League games.

I’m backing United, but it’s a tough one to get excited about.

Both sides come out of a long international break with injury worries, so there’ll be some rust. But United’s issues are mostly at the back, and Spurs haven’t shown me they can hurt anyone.

Old Trafford should help as well. United won this fixture 2-0 in February, although Spurs played over an hour of that one with 10 men after Cristian Romero was sent off on 29 minutes.

I honestly don’t know what Spurs’ back four looks like yet. If De Zerbi is forced into a new centre-back pairing, he’s doing it at one of the hardest away grounds in the country, against a side desperate for a win.

My gut says 2-0 United. A 2-1 wouldn’t shock me, and a draw is very much live given how flat United looked at Fulham. I’d steer clear of over 2.5 goals with Spurs this blunt.

Manchester United to Win to Nil @ $3.00

Spurs have scored in one of their five league games, and both of those goals came once Villa were three clear. Their first league goal of the season came after more than 490 minutes of trying.

I know United haven’t kept a league clean sheet yet. That’s the obvious risk with this bet.

But they haven’t faced an attack this toothless either. Spurs also drew a blank on their last visit to Old Trafford.

If you’ve got any free sports bet promotions to use this weekend, I’d put one on United to win to nil at $3.00.